The Three Lives of Bart Allen
by Triscribe
Summary: At first, he was the last speedster, fighting endlessly against the alien occupation that destroyed his family and his world. Then he was a time traveler, who finished his mission, saved the Earth, and promptly had no idea what to do next. Finally, once history had repeated itself, he was just another speedster, one haunted by memories not his own.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: Had this idea in that creative state halfway between being asleep and awake. This will be a three-shot, which includes names and elements from my other YJ Futureverse stories, but you don't really need to have read those in order to enjoy this piece._

 _-Trscribe_

Chapter 1

"Okay, boys," Don sighed, sinking into a crouch in front of where his sons sat on the sofa. "Your mom and I need to explain something to you, about the first Bart Allen."

Both little Bart and Thad, ages nine and seven, exchanged a confused glance. "He died just before I was born, right?" The brunette asked nervously.

"Sort of, sweetheart." Their mom Meloni said as she came over to stand beside her husband. "But for this story, we need to go back a lot further in time... To another timeline entirely, in fact."

"You see, your Uncle Bart wasn't really your uncle at all. He was a time traveller, one from a future where a nasty group of aliens called the Reach took over Earth."

"Why didn't the League stop 'em?" Thad piped up.

"They tried, kiddo, but the Reach were sneaky. They pretended to be Earth's friends, did a lot of things that seemed good at first, but turned out to be their method of getting inside and enslaving humanity." Don held up his hands to forestall the alarmed questions on the boys' faces. "It all turned out okay in the end, but you need to let me get there first, okay?"

"Okay, Daddy."

"Right... So, in the original timeline, the Reach won. They used their technology to brainwash metahumans into serving them, and turned the rest of the world into slaves and science experiments. The heroes had been the first to fall, the villains not long after them, but there were still a handful of people who resisted. Among them was the first Bart. He was the last speedster, since the rest of his family had all been killed or put 'on mode', turned into monsters."

The pair of brothers each gulped, scooting over on the sofa so that they were sitting as close together as they could.

"When he was thirteen, a few of those other rebels came up with a plan to change everything - they built a time machine, and used it to send Bart back to a point where he could stop the Reach invasion before it began."

"A real time machine, Daddy?" Thad gasped.

"Yep, as real as the Watchtower. And it worked, too. Bart made it back to the year twenty fifteen, and while he pretended to just be a tourist at first, he started doing a lot of backstage stuff to save lives and sabotage the Reach. There were a few setbacks here and there, and eventually he had to tell other heroes with the Team and League why he'd really come back in time, but in the end they won. The Reach were kicked out, the Earth was saved, and Bart got to see people he'd known in the future grow up happy instead of enslaved."

"What happened then?"

"Well... Time went on. Bart got older along with his friends and teammates, and was the best babysitter and teacher your Aunt Dawn and I could have ever had." Don smiled at memories of running over oceans and playing in the Watchtower, always with his 'Uncle' Bart hovering in the background even when his dad and cousin Wally were busy. "He was even the one to introduce me to your mom. But as the two of us fell in love and got married, Bart started getting slower and having health problems. While your mom was pregnant with you, Bart, your namesake spent more and more time in the Watchtower medical ward - he was literally fading away. Then came the day you were born..."

Realizing where this was going, the nine year old's eyes grew wide.

"Your mom has never made me so happy to be her husband when she insisted on having you in the next room over, so that as soon as you came out, I could take you over to where Bart was... He got to hold you, just for a minute, before he disappeared right in front of me."

"He _was_ me," the boy whispered. "That's why..."

"The scary dreams you've been having lately." Don said solemnly. "We don't think they're dreams - they're memories of Bart's early years in a Reach-controlled world."

-3LBA-

"We should go hang out with Jenni this weekend." Bart said, hanging upside down off the side of his brother's bed while the younger boy worked on his science project on the floor.

Thad snorted. "We hang out with Jenni all the time. Or if not her, then Raegan and Tommy, or Darren and Melissa. Why don't we ever do stuff with our other friends?"

"We _do_ do stuff with the others-"

"Missions don't count, Bart!" Frowning, the brunette flipped over to glare at the back of his brother's blonde head.

"What's the matter with you? Every time I make a suggestion lately, you're shooting it down!"

"Oh, not enjoying when someone doesn't automatically agree with you, oh great Bart Allen?" The ten year old snorted.

"Ex- _cuse_ me?"

"Well, I _apologize_ for not falling at your feet, great savior of humanity." Thad snapped, grabbing up his project supplies and storming out of the room. "But maybe I prefer to hang out with people who actually _give a flip_ over what _I'm_ thinking!"

Stunned, Bart couldn't bring himself to move for a while, wondering what the hell had gotten into his little brother.

-3LBA-

The mission was going poorly. Not only were there twice the number of soldiers expected, but most of them had Speed-nullifying weaponry of a type that could knock a speedster on his rear and keep him there.

"Inertia, Impulse, get out of the way!" Arrowette yelled at the brothers, never stopping her barrage of shots into the enemy ranks. Their cousin Darren McGinnis, Kid Flash, had already been taken down by the purple energy blasts and was forced to return to their ship. The last thing anyone wanted was for the other speedsters to be rendered powerless and caught by the soldiers.

"Okay, so if we can't take these guys head on, what can we do behind the scenes?" Bart panted as he and Thad dove behind a line of metal crates.

"I'm shocked, the great Impulse doesn't already have an idea in that lightning-fast mind of his-"

"Not the time, bro!" For some reason Bart had yet to fathom, his little brother had gotten progressively snarkier towards him in the last couple years, to the point that not even Team missions were free of the bitter commentary.

Rolling his eyes, Thad pointed up to where catwalks criss-crossed the area over the battle. "We can run around to the different supports and plant the R-charges on 'em. Once that mess of beams and platforms starts to come down, they'll flatten the goons and buy Robin and XS the rest of the time they need to hack the mainframe."

"Good, that's a great idea. Let's do-" With a whoosh of air, Inertia took off, leaving his brother to sigh. "-it."

While Arrowette, Supergirl and Stagehand distracted to veritable army pitched against them, the Allen brothers stealthily moved around the edges of the fight, planting small, Bat-made explosives on the different catwalk pillars. Just as Inertia was planting the last of the charges, though, a soldier at the rear of the group spotted him and fired his nullifier before the speedster could react.

A dark red and grey figure shot forward, catching the blast before it could reach the smaller teen. " _Impulse!"_

Unable to control his speed, Bart stumbled and rolled forward, slamming into the wall before Thad could catch him. The goon fired again, repeatedly, but in trying to hit the brothers accidentally shot the explosive package. A chain reaction was triggered, with Thad's plan working perfectly - the metal walkways came down in a mess of carnage, frightening the soldiers into fleeing their battle or else trapping them.

Unfortunately, they trapped the Allens as well.

Panicking, Thad held his unconscious brother close, pressing the both of them as close into the corner as he could while the wreckage fell all around them. When the last of the twisted metal settled, Inertia cautiously raised his head to take stock of their position. Which, wasn't looking so good.

Scorched plates and mangled beams formed a solid wall, cutting the two of them off in either direction. The pungent scent of burned flesh reached Thad's nose, but his ears couldn't detect any calls from their teammates. And, of course, this was the first mission in a month that they didn't have a Martian or other telepath along.

Logically, Thad knew he could just vibrate himself through the wreckage to find the others, but he was reluctant to leave Bart alone when he was out cold. Even as he had the thought, though, the older teen moaned and blinked his eyes open.

"Bart! Are you okay? Say something, bro!"

"...Ow."

"Good enough," Thad let loose a slightly unhinged chuckle. "Well, the plan worked, just a little too well..."

"So I see." Bart mumbled, carefully levering himself into a sitting position. "And I repeat, ow." The two of them just stayed silent for a few moments, surveying the damage they'd wrought.

"Why'd you take that shot?" The blonde suddenly asked. "We both know it wouldn't have killed me. Heck, it probably would've hurt less too, since I was standing still and you weren't."

Bart gave a small shrug. "You're my brother. I saw that guy aiming at you, and I moved."

Huffing out a sigh, the younger Allen thumped his head back against the wall. "You're a dork, y'know that?"

"Considering you say it to me at least once a day, yes, I do think I know that." His big brother snickered, before returning to seriousness. "Thad... I know this isn't really the best time or place to be asking, but what's been up with you acting so nasty to me these last couple years?"

"You're right, this really isn't the best time..." The blonde muttered. "But... I guess we don't have anything better to do at the moment. It's just- you've already gone and saved the world, and everyone admires you for it while they ignore me!"

Gaping, Bart stared at his brother in shock. "You think-"

"I know, I know, it's stupid, but you just take it all for granted, and it drives me up the wall! So, I get snippy. It's how I cope, and now I really wish you'd stop looking at me like that."

Forcing himself to stop gaping, the brunette slowly shook his head, trying to figure out how to handle the new information. "...You remember what got Dad to tell us about my original self in the first place?"

Thad blinked at the change of subject. "Yeah, you were having really bad nightmares."

"I still do, Thad." Bart said softly. "Every night. Except, like he said when we were kids, they aren't dreams, but memories."

The younger teen stiffened at the words, and watched with growing unease at the haunted look entering his big brother's eyes. "I remember losing Dad to the Reach, and Aunt Dawn, and Mom and Grandma dying in a labor camp, and this scary-serious version of Lian busting me out, taking me to the resistance. I can still feel the constant hunger because they didn't have enough supplies to keep a speedster well-fed. I remember the sounds of people screaming and dying whenever the Reach found our camps, the blood pouring over my hands when I tried to keep Evan's other self from bleeding out-" Shuddering, Bart wrapped his arms around himself and shivered. "I remember helping Nathaniel make the time machine. I remember Damian and Milagro and Anissa teaching me everything they knew about Earth before the Reach, so that I could fool the old Team and League. I remember meeting people we've grown up knowing for the first time, seeing them work so hard to stop the invasion before it happened and _almost failing-"_

"Whoa, Bart, easy, breathe!" Thad reached over to rub a hand up and down his brother's shaking back.

"Every night, I get another day from my other self." The brunette laughed hysterically. "And you think I'm happy to have everyone compare me to him? Expect me to be who I already was? You're the lucky one, Thad. No one's got preconceived notions of what _you're_ supposed to be like."

"I guess... I never thought of it that way..."

"And you want to know why I only ever want to hang out with certain people when we aren't at the Watchtower or on a mission? _Because they're the ones who didn't exist in the other timeline."_ Bart hissed. "With the Queens, or the Logans, or even the Duncans, I can be having a random conversation, and then one of them will say or do something that triggers another memory. Another nightmare in my head."

Thoroughly horrified by this point, Thad scooted over on the concrete ground to pull his brother into a tight hug. "I'm sorry, Bart. I didn't realize... Does anyone else know about this?"

"...I talked to Aunt M'gann about it once. But all she could tell me was that the double memories would fade once I got past the age my other self was when he faded from reality."

"That's, not what I'd call helpful advice."

"I said the same thing. She said it was the best she could do." Bart sighed and tilted his head over to rest against his brother's. "Wonder what's taking the others so long."

"I can go check, if you don't mind being by yourself for a few minutes." Thad offered.

"The nullifiers didn't get you?"

"Nah, I'm as vibrate-y as ever!" The two of them chuckled at the old joke. "Seriously, though, I'm only gonna go if you're sure you'll be okay."

"I'm fine, Thad. Better than I have been for a while now, actually."

"And that," the blonde pointed a finger at his brother's nose. "Sounds like the head injury talking."

Snorting, Bart gave the other teen a slight shove, prompting him to hurry up and go find the rest of their squad members. He then leaned his head back against the wall, and considered the timeline. His nightly memory sessions had finally gotten to a point that Bart knew was almost the end of the Reach's attempted invasion. There would be a few more nightmare quality moments, but after that, he'd hopefully be moving on to the good years his older self had enjoyed before fading away...


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Once again, Bart found his way to the Watchtower's garden, and the memorial holograms set up there. At first, he'd only come out here to sit and talk to Wally when a mission went poorly, or something had shaken him. Lately, though, the teen was finding himself lost and coming by more and more.

He'd come back in time to stop the Reach Apocalypse. And he'd succeeded! But once the mission was won, Bart had no plans or goals for his life. In the year that he and the other resistance members were building the time machine, everything had revolved about his mission. Before that, life had been about surviving and sabotaging the Reach, and before that, just surviving. Bart wasn't much of a planner - he'd always lived in the moment, acting and reacting according to his surroundings. It made him a great fighter with the addition of his superspeed, but when it came to figuring out where he wanted his suddenly free life to go...

"Hey," a soft voice came from behind him, jerking the teen out of his thoughts. "Want some company?"

"Sure." Bart replied, scooting over on the grass to make room for Artemis to also sit in front of Wally's memorial. Out of everyone in the League and Team, she understood the most what the time traveler was going through. After all, Artemis had spent the last several years planning out her life with Wally in it. Now, she was as lost as Bart.

"I was talking something over with Barry this morning." The blonde woman began saying. "With a little help from Nightwing's hacking skills, they're going to get you registered as an official Allen. Think you'll be looking forward to attending school next fall?"

"Dunno how well I'll handle it, and then there's the whole 'teens are supposed to hate school' thing," he chuckled weakly. "Honestly, though... It kind of terrifies me."

"You'll do fine, Bart. As long as you don't take up a habit of using your speed to pull pranks." The two of them shared a stronger laugh, then just continued to sit in silence and enjoy the other's presence.

And even after the thing with the time traveling West twins a few months down the road, even once Wally came back the year after, Bart and Artemis would still find time to be in the same room together, content to have that quiet companionship.

-3LBA-

Jaime's head jerked up in surprise. "Dude - you don't want to go to college?"

"Well, I mean, there isn't really anything I'm interested in getting a degree in, and I figure I could get a job as a mechanic or something to support myself-"

"Hermano, with as much as you eat, I think you'll need something that pays _really_ well to support _your_ bills." The other teen said with an amused smirk.

"Yeah yeah, but I have dinner so much at the 'tower or with my relatives I'm not too worried."

"...You just don't want to go through four more years of school. C'mon, Bart, college is the fun one out of all the education levels! Sure, the workload tends to be a lot bigger, but think of what there is to enjoy when you've got free time!" Standing, Jaime walked over to gently punch his friend in the shoulder. "I'm going to make you fill out the same applications that I am, and if you still haven't changed your mind by the time the acceptance letters come out, I'll leave it be."

"But in the meantime, you'll be doing everything you can to convince me otherwise, right?" Bart raised an eyebrow at his best friend.

"Well, duh!"

In the end, Jaime got Bart to go to Texas Tech with him, entering the speedster into the engineering department while the other studied architecture. Bit by bit, Bart started to enjoy himself at the university, and Lubbock was a big enough city he could get in his morning warm-up just by running around Loop 289 a few times. He and Jaime went to a few parties, studied together and helped the other with his projects, and still participated on Team missions every once in a while.

Then, Jaime met Traci Thirteen.

She was an English major and an Arts student whom he'd met a few times, and apparently a secret magic user too. Bart had been suspicious at first, as he always was towards metahumans he didn't possess previous knowledge of from his mentors in the future, but the way Jaime would light up whenever she was around gradually had him warming up towards the woman. The two of them got her to meet with Zatanna a few times, for some cross-comparisons of their methods, and the League member certified her as being as appropriate candidate for the Team.

Jaime was ecstatic. As were several of their other friends.

Bart... Hid, for lack of a better word. He threw himself into schoolwork, always claiming he was too busy to go on missions, or to hang out on the Watchtower with the others.

This went on for more than two months before a very pissed off Milagro Reyes arrived at his dorm.

"You think my hermano idiota is going to replace you with his girlfriend?" The young teen asked incredulously when she finally got Bart to open up on what he was feeling. "Allen, you are possibly the biggest moron to work on that floating base."

He couldn't help it. A snicker found its way out of his throat, and Milagro grinned at her victory.

"Look, I know my brother might not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, but even _he's_ been able to tell something's up with you. And the dork thinks it's his fault." She paused and reiterated. "Which, I guess, it sort of is on one level, but he didn't fall in love on purpose! So. Are you going to keep hiding out here on the dusty plain, or go make up with tu amigo mejor?"

Six years later, Bart was Best Man at Jaime and Traci's wedding. And two years after that, when tiny Juan Reyes was born, the speedster teared up at becoming the infant's godfather.

-3LBA-

"Well, this could be going better!" Bart said cheerfully as he and Wally took cover behind a car lying on its side. In their respective Mercury and Flash uniforms, the two looked nearly identical except for the color schemes - Wally in mostly red with various yellow and white splashes, while his younger cousin's suit was mainly white with red and blue designs.

Further up the street from them, a new crook by the name of Girder was going on a rampage, thoroughly fed up about some supposed slight against him and determined to beat up anything within range of his metal-fused fists. Which happened to include various members of the Flash family, hence why they'd ducked out of sight when he started grabbing chunks of sidewalk concrete to throw around.

"You've yet to get the hang of the term 'understatement', haven't you?" Wally snipped back, peering around the edge of the car to take stock of where everyone had ended up. Dawn and Jay were both down, pulled into a relatively safe alleyway by Don. Barry had turned up in the old version of the Flash suit to lend a hand, mostly just getting civilians out of harm's way. Irey, wonderful little spitfire child that she was, continued to run rings around Girder, insulting everything from his grimy pants to his sense of timing.

"I still have Christmas shopping to do, you hunk of brainless protoplasm!" The fifteen year old yelled, causing the metahuman to bellow and take another swipe at her.

"Honestly, that girl procrastinates longer and longer every year," Wally murmured with a grin as Bart snickered. "Okay, Merc, I'm gonna go join KF, maybe between the two of us we can lead Girder away from the downtown stores. I want you to run ahead, keep the path clear of civilians, and direct any cops or other capes that might show up."

"You got it, coz!" In seconds, Bart had left the overturned car behind, hurrying on up the road, keeping his eyes peeled for anyone missed in his grandfather's initial sweep. Not that he wanted to doubt the aging man, but everyone was capable of making a mistake here and there.

And sure enough, crouched below the shattered window of a small store was a young woman, brown hair coming loose from a short bun and obscuring her face.

"Excuse me miss, mind if we get you out of here?" Bart started to smile at her, but the expression nearly died on his face when the woman lifted her head to look at him.

It was Meloni Thawne.

His mother.

"Mercury!" She gasped, stumbling to her feet in surprise. "I- yes, I'd appreciate a lift."

Thinking quickly, Bart nodded and picked her up, but instead of heading straight for the area his grandfather had been taking people, he zigzagged a bit. Meloni didn't notice - as soon as they started moving at superspeed, she tucked her head into his shoulder and just held on.

Fortunately, it didn't take too long for them to come across and join Don, who was carrying his sister further from the conflict. Both speedsters came to a halt near the police line and deposited their respective ladies, one awake and the other still out cold.

"Spin, I'll go get Marathon, do you mind making sure this woman gets looked at by a medic?" Bart asked, trying not to let his nervousness show.

"Yeah, uh, sure." The younger man nodded, his eyes widening ever so slightly as he took in the disheveled Meloni. "Right this way, Me- ah, miss!"

Bart didn't stick around, hurrying back to get his kid cousin as he beamed. Hopefully, this subtle bit of maneuvering would be just enough to ensure to two ended up in something of a relationship. The time traveler had done his research - he knew both his parents were attending classes together at the local University and likely knew one another, but since Don was such a shy guy, Bart doubted the two would get together unless Meloni saw his heroic side too.

And sure enough, that evening as the two sides of the Flash family celebrated their victory, a knock came on the front door. When Iris answered it, Meloni was on the other side.

Don went to greet her, stumbling over his words as he simultaneously smiled and blushed while the rest of the speedsters looked on. He and the woman spoke in low tones for a few minutes, before she walked purposefully into the living room and pinned Bart with a look.

"Mercury." Meloni said simply. Her gaze flickered over to Irey. "Kid Flash."

Next was Jay. "Marathon."

Then Barry. "Old Flash"

Wally. "Current Flash."

And finally Dawn. "Twist."

She then looked to Artemis and Iris, who sat side by side on the sofa looking smug. "How can you stand putting up with this many makers of bad jokes?"

Everyone burst out laughing, and welcomed Meloni into their fold.

-3LBA-

The League had grown. The Team had grown. And the army of small children that periodically invaded the Watchtower for babysitting purposes was bigger than ever.

Villains, thieves and would-be world conquerors were also appearing in greater numbers than before, but none of their schemes ever came to fruition thanks to so many crimefighters.

Humanity was flourishing. Technological advancements were starting to give back to the planet, with the rise of clean energy and education, most of which didn't have much to do with the heroes, but it was still something to look on with pride.

The Light would still put in appearances now and then, letting folks know that they hadn't stopped their backstage manipulations. Alien invasions and attacks would occur every few years, some more dangerous than others, all halted reasonably quickly.

On the whole, everything was going well.

Which was why Bart suddenly collapsing in the middle of the Watchtower was so shocking.

He'd been talking to Kendra Hol and Jay about how best to break to the rest of the family that they were dating when his heart seized unpleasantly. Ignoring it, Bart tried to go on with what he was saying, but the pain in his chest struck again, stronger than before. Next thing he knew, Hawkgirl was leaning over him as he lay on the floor, Jay having gone to get help.

"Mercury? Bart? What's wrong?" The Thanagarian asked him, her gold eyes flashing in concern.

"Guess there can't be two at once after all..." Bart muttered, pushing himself upright, despite the young woman trying to tell him to stay still. "Worth a shot anyway, I suppose."

"What?" He didn't have a chance to answer her before Jay reappeared, Wally right behind him.

"C'mon, coz, let's get you to the med bay." The redhead slipped Bart's arm over his shoulders, helping the other man to his feet. They took the trip slow, Jay and Kendra keeping close behind.

A hour and several tests later, there was nothing to suggest anything was wrong with Bart - which of course didn't satisfy the rest of the heroes who'd shown up after hearing what happened.

"What haven't we looked at?" Jaime demanded, Traci's hand tightening its grip on his shoulder.

"Look, I don't know what else we might do, but yelling _definitely_ isn't going to help right now." Karen said firmly, glaring at the other League member.

"Is it even a true health issue?" Terry McGinnis spoke up, from where he leaned against a wall beside Irey. "Or time travel related?"

That question prompted everyone to turn and look at the medical bed where Bart sat, twiddling his thumbs and looking ashamed of something.

"Hermano?" At Jaime's soft plea, the man glanced up for a moment before gluing his eyes to the floor.

"...I always wondered," he started to speak quietly. "If it would be possible for two Bart Allens to exist at once."

Everyone stiffened, several gasps being released as they all realized what he meant - Don had married Meloni three years before, and were often heard debating over whether or not to have a child so soon into the marriage.

"But... Have you talked about this with them?" Irey asked, reaching for her boyfriend's hand in panic.

"I'm not gonna stop those two from having the family they deserve." Bart gave his kid cousin a lopsided smile. "It's selfish, really, to want my second self to grow up in an intact society with such a great extended family."

Clearly, there was nothing to do about it. The news spread quickly, with the rest of the Flash family heading up to the Watchtower to retrieve their extra member, both Don and Meloni looking guilty about the whole thing before Bart slapped some sense into them.

Over the next nine months, several people reworked their schedules to make sure Bart could enjoy as many 'proofs of life' as possible, as he liked to call them. Dawn married her fiance, Jeven Ognats, whose name Bart couldn't stop snickering at even through the ceremony. Once their daughter was born, Damian and Lian brought little Raegan over to be held and played with at least three times a week.

Christmas to New Year's was a straight week of gifts and partying. Valentine's Day, the man was swamped with cards and boxes of chocolate from dozens of Team and League members who looked to him as a friend and mentor. On Easter, the current crop of metahuman children who frequented the Watchtower insisted he join their super-powered egg hunt. Every birthday party, it was insisted that he attend.

But as Meloni's pregnancy progressed, Bart got weaker and weaker. For the last two months, he had to remain in bed in his room aboard the Watchtower, where others could watch over his failing form.

He wrote out a will, dividing up most of his souvenir collection and personal belongings among the friends he'd made over the past two and a half decades. Started to say his goodbyes to various people, in case they weren't around when the end actually came. Counted down the days to when his second self came into the world. Bart didn't know his exact date of birth, as that wasn't something people really cared about in a Reach-controlled world. The Team had just used the anniversary of day he arrived in Mount Justice in order to throw him a party.

And then, the day finally arrived. Bart knew it, felt it in his bones so to speak, even before Irey burst in, babbling at superspeed about the baby finally coming and Meloni wanting to have it in the next room over and Don freaking out-

"Wait, what?"

The young woman repeated herself a bit more slowly, warming Bart's heart when he understood that the younger Allen couple wanted to have their child as close to him as possible.

Several hours later, he could feel energy crackling up and down his frame, but ignored the pain as long as possible. Eventually, Don entered with a blue wrapped bundle in his arms.

"Uncle Bart," he said softly, placing the infant in his weak arms. "Meet Bartholomew Henry Allen, the second."

"Technically the first," the old speedster smiled, his voice barely above a whisper. "It is weird to think I'm adorable?"

Don just grinned at him, hovering close by. "I wasn't sure- do you think you'll still-"

"I'm going, Donnie. Nothing's changed about that. But I'm glad to have gotten to see you turn into such a great man. I know you'll handle the family thing just fine."

And with that, Bart finally gave in, allowing the wave of energies to sweep through his frame, erasing him from reality even as something of himself slipped into the new life...


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Bart's earliest memory was of loss. He could recall being held tightly in someone's lap, other people in the small room talking quietly or sobbing. The toddler didn't know at the time that his cousin Wally had just been killed by the reach. Didn't know what death was at all, in fact.

But he learned.

One thing Bart _couldn't_ remember was the sensation of not being hungry. Even after he scarfed down whatever meager rations came his way, he'd still feel a hollowness in his stomach, crying out for more.

It got worse when the inhibitor collar was removed, and his superspeed kicked in.

When it came to the Reach, you had to be subservient, quick to obey, never daring to look at Earth's rulers with defiance in your eyes. When it came to the resistance groups, you had to be tough enough to survive, strong enough not to let anyone push you around, and cold-hearted enough not to break under the deaths of those around you.

Those were all things that Bart learned to play at, but never really took to heart. He learned what it meant to be a hero from his family, as they stood up to the Reach and were slowly killed one by one. He learned how to make himself useful to others, so that even when he wasn't tough or strong enough, they'd give him a shoulder to lean on.

Red, as she called herself, had been the one to get him out of the labor camp where he was just another Reach slave. She'd gone in to determine if it was a good target for raiding, only to do a double take after spotting him. They spent that off-shift talking about his family and hers, how they'd been tied together through her Aunt Artemis and his cousin Wally. Escaping was probably the most exciting thing Bart had done in his ten years of life.

But that was before he got to run the first time.

One of the resistance members was an alien woman who'd crashed to Earth as a child, Kara Zor-El. Her powers made people think she was a Kryptonian, like Superman had been before he disappeared, and so folks called her Superwoman. She'd ripped off his inhibitor collar like it was paper, for which Bart swore to always be nice to the lady, but the cold, uncaring look in her eyes made it a tricky promise to keep.

There wasn't really such a thing as friendship among the Earth's rebel camps any more, but the longer he spent among them, becoming known as the last speedster, Bart attracted the attention of those who were left of the heroes. Men and women with abilities or training inherited from parents in the League came to talk to him, and that was even before the time traveling scheme was come up with.

"Why me?" Bart asked, not truly believing that they honestly thought he'd be best for the job.

Red and the Bat exchanged a glance, before the latter explained. "You're young enough to be right in the thick of things as they happen, and your speed increases the likelihood of your success over anyone else by a minimum of thirty percent."

"There's also the matter of your personality, kid." Bolt cut in. "You and I both know you're not like the rest of us - you remember love, and haven't grown cynical yet like so many others. If anyone here can put on an act to fool the old heroes, it's you."

"Oh."

And so his lessons began.

Evan Queen told him what he could remember of how speedsters were supposed to act (impulsive, skeptical of magic, too curious for their own good), up until the Reach attack that took the man's life. Anissa Pierce shared details of the Watchtower and the League, the burned flesh covering her face warping the woman's lips into a grimace even as she spoke of happy things. The tutor he grew closest too, oddly enough, was Milagro Reyes.

Granted, he didn't know she was Blue Beetle's little sister until well after that bond had formed, but even afterward Bart would still sit beside the battle-worn woman and listen to her stories of Jaime and the Team.

"He was a good kid, before the Reach got him." She'd often murmur sadly. "Best big brother a girl could have."

"What was it like to have a brother?" The words were out before Bart could stop them. Milagro chuckled, a dry, painful sound.

"Irritating, a fair amount of the time. Being together so much of the time, having our parents treat us differently without meaning to, those often set off arguments and ridiculous little hissy fits. But then there'd be the really good days, when we went to the park and he would push me on the swings, or the times he told me about the Team. Probably the best was when a group of middle schoolers were trying to tease and bully me, only for Jaime to show up and scare _them._ Having a brother wasn't so bad then."

That night, when Bart went to sleep on the bare dirt beneath a threadbare blanket Evan had given him, he dreamed of a boy who looked like him, with short blonde hair and an annoyed expression.

 _Bart! You said we_ both _could go running with dad tonight!_

Having only experienced nightmares before, the speedster wasn't sure what to make of the odd dream, only that it made for a nice change.

-3LBA-

"...need to move camp again. Their patrols are coming too close to our location." The Bat was saying to the rest of the command element as Bart entered their shelter, a bag of scavenged materials slung over his shoulder.

"Where are we going to go instead, Damian?" Red snapped, jabbing her finger at the map they had hung upon the wall. "No matter where we attempt to hide, the Reach has patrols everywhere!"

Seeing the darkening look on the Bat's face, Bart spoke up to try and diffuse the incoming argument. "I know a place the Reach doesn't go."

As one, every head in the room turned to stare at him.

"What are you talking about, kid?" Nathaniel asked, the first to find his voice again.

"There's a crater up the coast from here, about two hundred miles north, right next to a ruined town. I've gone there before to get supplies, and the Reach patrols never come within three miles of the place."

"The mountain," Anissa murmured. "Of course, he'd manage to find the mountain without knowing what it was."

"Mountain?" Suddenly, her words and the stories he'd been hearing for half a year clicked together. "Wait - you mean, _that's_ what's left of Mount Justice?!"

"Told you the Reach had it blown up back in the day, kid." Red said with a hint of amusement in her voice. "It's actually where we were planning on deploying you and the time machine from, but I thought we'd have to slip in at the last minute because of the patrols."

"You're _sure_ it isn't guarded?" The Bat said sternly.

"Totally sure." Bart waited anxiously as the commanders all looked to one another, silently debating their options. Finally, it looked like an answer was decided upon, and Milagro stepped forward.

"We'll start preparations for the move."

It took three days of work, but eventually they got the entire camp up to what remained of Happy Harbor. Red decided that for security's sake, the majority of the resistance members would hide out in the town, making some underground shelters beneath the ruined buildings, while the actual time machine would continue to be built in the mountain itself.

Bart's lessons on the past dwindled as he spent more and more time helping arrange the last of the device's key components for assembly - they wanted to make sure he had a basic idea of how to repair the thing in case the overshot and he had to try again by himself. Not the best case scenario, but it was a possibility.

Then, about a week before his scheduled departure, the worst possible thing _did_ happen:

The Reach found them.

It was just before dawn when Bart was awoken by the familiar sounds of laser weaponry firing, and people screaming as they ran. He darted outside his small shelter, ready to charge into the fight as he usually did to buy others the time to escape, but was halted by a firm hand grasping his arm.

"Don't!" Milagro shouted to him over the din. "Red and the Bat will handle it!" She then dragged him off through a special escape route through the town's rubble. Bart could have easily overtaken the aged woman, or vibrated out of her grasp and doubled back, but something had him sticking close to Milagro's side.

Once they were well away from both the town and the mountain, she stopped and turned to look him in the eyes.

"The machine is safe?"

"Yeah, Nathaniel's been keeping the pieces in one of the lower caves, and sleeping there just in case."

"Good. By this point, he's the only one you need to help you finish it."

"But what about-"

"Bart." The firm use of his name had the teen reluctantly looking back into her steely gaze. "The camp is lost. With that many Reach soldiers, they must have known we were there, or else set up that area of no patrols knowing it would attract refugees. We are going to have to scatter, like they're expecting, but you _need_ to finish the machine. Alright?"

"A-alright."

"Good boy." She pulled him in for a quick hug, before gently pushing the kid in the direction of the mountain. "Now go." Bart took a hesitant step away, still looking at her. Milagro's glare finally prompted him into speeding off as the buzz of an incoming Reach agent reached their ears.

The woman held her ground as Blue Beetle dropped to the ground directly in front of her.

"So, the meat's little sister lived after all," he growled with a feral smile. "Such a good agent Jaime Reyes has been for the Reach, perhaps one of his blood would make an equally good pawn."

Milagro responded by crossing her arms and glaring. "I doubt it. You never could control my brother's spirit, only his body - and I have stubbornness issues at _least_ one order of magnitude greater than his."

"Hah! So the meat still has fight to it. I will let you in on a secret, human - Jaime still has fight to his mind as well." She stiffened at Beetle's words. "Do you want to know what he is screaming for you to do right now?"

"To kick you a good one in the groin?" Milagro snarled.

"To _run._ " The monster responded, a moment before he lifted his blade and drove it through her midsection.

Hiding off in the rubble, Bart watched with horror as Milagro's blood covered the ground beneath her lifeless body. Then, before Blue Beetle could notice his presence, the teen speeded away.

-2LBA-

" _It should have changed... It should have ALL changed..."_ Even as he spoke the words, though, Nathaniel clutched at his head, memories of his past twisting and changing. A few moments later, the man gasped as two clear sets of memories manifested, allowing him to see that everything did, indeed, change.

Hoping he wasn't the only one to know the differences, Nathaniel hurried away from the remnants of Mount Justice, hoping surging through his veins when he caught sight of an intact Happy Harbor a few miles down the coast. He ran through the woods in that direction, reveling in actual, live trees covering the landscape.

Then, he burst into a clearing, and halted in his tracks.

Thanks to the double memories, the man had a brief moment of panic upon seeing Blue Beetle. But that was before he really registered what was happening before him.

Despite clearly being a grown man, Jaime's form wasn't the distorted being that the Reach turned him into. And Milagro, though also grown, looked a great deal healthier than her other self - not to mention, was wearing the uniform of a Green Lantern. The pair of siblings were clinging to each other in a tight hug, Jaime weeping softly as his sister shushed and comforted him.

"...couldn't stop them... killed you... killed so many..." The choked words drifted over to Nathaniel, causing him to wince in sympathy for the other memories Blue must have in his head.

"That was when you were on mode, hermano," Milagro whispered back, gripping him even more tightly. "Not your fault. Not _remotely_ your fault."

Growing more uncomfortable by the moment, Nathaniel let out a soft cough, causing both the siblings to whip around.

"Nate?" The woman gasped, gaining a dazzling smile. "Your scars..."

"Never had a chance to form, thanks to the kid." He returned with a grin.

"Do you think any of the others...?"

"Here's to hoping. Mind if we head to the tower to check?" To answer, Milagro expanded a bubble of green light around the three of them, flying off through the atmosphere towards the Watchtower.

When they arrived, it was clear that those who'd existed in the other timeline were celebrating, as those who hadn't looked on with confusion and amusement. Adults were acting like children, even the most serious of them, such as Damian and Lian (to their actual children's dismay). Teenagers were staring around at everything with awe, almost unable to believe that they were really in such a place of human-made grandness instead of the ruins they remembered scavenging through oh so recently.

And off to one side, watching it all with a contented smile, was Bart Allen.

His eyes lit up when Milagro approached, the teen running over to grab her in a hug. "I'm sorry, I couldn't save you the first time..."

"But you did in the end, kiddo." She pulled back enough to beam down at him. "You saved us all."

 _A/N: Thanks for reading, folks! I hope everyone enjoyed how it all turned out. Despite the darkness present through this story, I wanted a happy ending, and did my best to make it happen._


End file.
